ABSTRACT

This study introduces a groundbreaking approach to enhance membrane distillation (MD) performance by incorporating a lotus leaf-inspired Poly (vinylidene fluoride‐co‐hexafluoropropene)/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF-HFP/PVDF) dual-layer coating onto a hollow fiber PVDF support membrane. The synergistic effect of this integrated dip-coating phase inversion approach significantly improves membrane wetting resistance characteristics, water permeability and salt rejection without compromising overall performance. Experimental results demonstrate a substantial increase in water flux from 11.55 kg/m²h–15.25 kg/m²h while maintaining exceptional salt rejection rates exceeding 99.9%. The enhanced membrane properties are attributed to the synergistic interaction between PVDF-HFP and PVDF, resulting in a hierarchical rough surface with contact angle reached up to 137.31° that effectively repels water and minimises pore wetting. This research paves the way for the development of high-performance MD membranes with improved efficiency and sustainability.

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